Medium-small West African-style netted gourd rattle (sekere)

This Pan-African Arts-crafted model features a mix of blue, red, and yellow glass and pony beads strung onto gold netting (with braided upper and lower collars to prevent slippage).

Dimensions: 10" h., 8" gourd

Essentially, the Ṣẹ̀kẹ̀rẹ̀ might be thought of as a combination rattle-drum. This is because, in addition to being shaken as a rattle, the player also can simultaneously tap the base and neck of the instrument to produce a drum-like sound. Another interesting technique involves using the palm to tap the mouth of the gourd; this results in a sound similar to that of the udu, a pot-like ceramic instrument of Nigeria's Igbo people.

Examples of playing techniques are provided in the following videos (): "Shekere Player/Music - Chief Yagbe Awolowo Onilu"; "John Santos Plays the Shekere"; "Okaidja & Shokoto - Shekere and Haitian dance"; "Women of the Calabash on CACE Int'l." The following videos feature sekeres crafted by Pan-African Arts in play: "Afro-Cuban Song Apprenticeship - Dany Illas & Hans Hernandez"; "Hans and Kenneth: Ṣẹ̀kẹ̀rẹ̀ and drum workout."